100,000 supports come out to see Obama in Denver. In worries me a bit. He’s not a rock star, he’s not the second coming, he’s a good politician at the right time and place. Sure, Americans are fed up, many of our cherished values and institutions are in shambles, and Obama’s brings a brand of hope and change to the table that people are desperate to latch on to. But I don’t like seeing otherwise sane and rational people I know succumbing to the siren call of partisanship and spin. We’re better than that. And we have the luxury, with a tremendous poll advantage, that while McCain continues to toil in the swamp, Obama’s supporters can keep their discourse elevated.
Monthly Archive for October, 2008
Thu
Oct
23
2008
A profile of the creator of FiveThirtyEight, the sophisticated election statistics blog.
Sun
Oct
19
2008
Dave Eggers’s talk on 826 at TED 0 cmts
Every time I go to bring up 826 Valencia in conversation, I can’t remember the name (or, more precisely, the number). Here is Dave Eggers’ talk from February that describes the project. One of these days I’m going to check out 826 Boston. It’s only a mile away from where I’ve been playing frisbee, but sadly not open at 9pm. 
Films I want to see 0 cmts
Judging solely by their trailers, these films looks particularly notable:
I’m also intrigued but confused by Synecdoche, New York.
What other coming films look interesting?
Mon
Oct
13
2008
The Terrorist Barack Hussein Obama 0 cmts
At McCain-Palin rallies, the raucous and insistent cries of “Treason!” and “Terrorist!” and “Kill him!” and “Off with his head!” as well as the uninhibited slinging of racial epithets, are actually something new in a campaign that has seen almost every conceivable twist. They are alarms. Doing nothing is not an option.
Fri
Oct
10
2008
While three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry this week for their work with a jellyfish protein that allows researchers to monitor the functioning of cells, the discover of the protein, repeatedly denied funding for his work, eventually gave up on science and now drives a shuttle bus at a car dealership in Alabama.
Wed
Oct
08
2008
So simple, so accurate, so funny.
Make-Believe Maverick 0 cmts
In its broad strokes, McCains life story is oddly similar to that of the current occupant of the White House. John Sidney McCain III and George Walker Bush both represent the third generation of American dynasties. Both were born into positions of privilege against which they rebelled into mediocrity. Both developed an uncanny social intelligence that allowed them to skate by with a minimum of mental exertion. [...] In one vital respect, however, the comparison is deeply unfair to the current president: George W. Bush was a much better pilot.
"Make-Believe Maverick" in Rolling Stone discusses McCain's "disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty."
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